Adding Scarcity to Your Offers

   How many times have you made a buying decision because you were told that there were only so many of the item left? This is known as scarcity marketing and it is extremely effective.  The principle behind this is known as supply and demand. If your product is seen as being in limited supply more value is immediately associated with it. This gives buyers the mentality of "if everyone is snapping this up, then I should too"! In order for this to work effectively your offer has to be positioned correctly in the marketplace. Your end goal is to boost the desire of your customer to purchase your product.  By positioning your products with scarcity you are giving it more perceived value immediately. You need to show that you had tons of this product in stock and due to popular demand you only have X number left. This is more effective than telling customers I only have 25 in stock so you'd better buy now before they are gone.  In the latter example the customer doesn't feel a sense of urgency to buy. You have no proof that these are popular or in demand. Your customers are probably of the mindset that you only ordered 25 because you didn't think more than that would sell. Can you see the difference?  One tactic that many online marketers use for selling digital products is to use what is known as a dime sale. This is when they run a sale where the price increases a set amount after a certain number of sales.  When visitors arrive on the sales page they will be shown a note that says "only 2 left at this price". This adds scarcity to the offer and if they are interested they will hit that buy button faster to get the lower price.  Another example of adding scarcity is to remind your customers that you only have a certain number of this item left in stock. This could apply to physical items, digital items or even to ticket sales, if you are selling tickets to an event.
Successful marketers will often add scarcity into an offer by including a specific date. Stating that the price will increase to X amount by a certain date can be extremely effective. This helps to get those who are borderline shoppers and helps to turn them into an actual buyer.  Adding scarcity is a marketing technique than can really help increase your bottom line. If you haven't tried this tactic yet maybe it is time you did.  !

Bundling Your Products Together

  
   Did you know that the majority of people can only remember seven pieces of information at any one time? If a person is presented with more than this amount they tend to cluster or bundle the information together. Have you ever written down a list of items and then tried to remember them? Chances are you didn't fair that well.  So how can you apply this technique to your business and create more eager buyers?  First of all you want to have a look at how your website is set up. Do you have a store front on your page? If so, is it easy to find products, do you have categories set up or not?  Just by organizing your store, and this can apply to a physical store as well, you make it much easier for customers to find what they want. Of course, when they know where and how to find items they will purchase them.  Keeping the short term memory idea in place, we can take this and apply it to how you actually package your products. Remember who doesn't love a sale or special offer? Just about everyone does, it's a great incentive to getting a great deal while stocking up on certain items.  Take a look at your products and see if you can bundle up related ones together. Then simply price these at a great discount and give your customers an offer they can't refuse! If the price is good enough, people will still purchase even if they have one of the items or products already. The offer is just that good.  Another idea is to bundle up a couple of products and then run them as a time  limited event. Weekend special deals normally go over really well with customers.  You can also bundle up products as your stock becomes depleted. Take an older product and include with a brand new product and offer a discount on it.  It is possible to get quite creative with this bundling process. You can easily add a ton of perceived value to a certain product by including something else
with it. This can be applied to physical products as well as digital ones. Put your thinking cap on and get a little creative.  Always keep in mind that buyers love a special deal and want to feel as though they are appreciated as a customer. What better way to do this than by running special offers that include more than one product?  !

Do Obliged People Buy More From You?

  
   When you make a commitment to someone how often do you break your promise? Research shows that most people hate to break their promise. So why not use this in your marketing to a certain degree?  Let's think of how you can get people to make a commitment to you, and your business, so that they will purchase your products. One example of this is if you were about to publish a brand new book on Amazon. You could offer to give your customers a big discount on the book if they sign up to your Early Bird Special Pricing List. Once they are on this list and you email them their discount they are going to feel obliged to purchase your book. You didn't pressure them into this decision, you just made them a fantastic offer that they didn't want to lose out on. Of course, this doesn't mean that everyone will commit to purchasing your book. But you will notice that the majority of people will follow through and take you up on your offer.  Another way to create long term loyal customers is by offering them a membership deal for example. Instead of just offering a monthly option for your membership. Offer a lower price on a 12 month option. Make it so that they get one or two months for free. They will see this as value for their money and sign up for your offer.  Again you have just created a long term customer. In the meantime you keep connecting with them and offering a few bonuses here and there. Before you know this person renews their membership again for another year.  Always bear in mind that you don't want to bribe or pressure your customers. You are simply offering them lots of wonderful options, which they feel obliged to take advantage of.  If you get creative you can probably come up with lots of ways to offer incentives to your customers and clients. Early Bird specials work well, as does offering a discount coupon.  Once the customer has the coupon in their  hand or on their computer they are more likely to actually use it. 
Just don't fall into the trap of offering too many coupons too often. Otherwise you are teaching your customers to only purchase with coupons. They will just wait patiently until you run your next sale.  Your next step is to come up with a great way to get your customers to feel obliged to buy or opt in to one of your offers, have fun! !

Do People Purchase More from Authority Figures?

   Research does seem to support the theory that people will buy more from someone who is seen as an authority figure. If this is true, then how can you apply this tactic to your own business?  First you need to understand the concept behind this. An authority figure is someone who has gained the trust and respect of others. This is not an overnight occurrence, it takes time to build this type of relationship.  Let's look at some ways you can set yourself up to be viewed as an authority in your business. The best way to become an authority in any niche or field is to publish a book. Authors are automatically viewed as an authoritive person. With the current boom of self publishing it is really easy to publish your own book.  Another way to gain authority so people will buy from you is to be featured in interviews and articles. Start offering to do interviews with people that are related to your industry. You can then publish the links to these interviews on your blog or in your newsletter.  Video is another great way to become an authority figure, plus it allows people to form a more human bond with you. It is much easier to identify with a person that you have seen up close and had a more personal connection with.  Other ways to get your name on content in different formats is to publish whitepapers and short reports. Just ensure that everything is branded with your name and your company logo. Again, this just helps to re-enforce that you know what you are talking about.  As a business owner you should always be attempting to make yourself be seen as an authority figure. You don't want to start doing this just as a way to draw people in. Eventually people will see that you are not really sincere and you could end up losing customers instead.  People are always happy to purchase from people that they know, like and trust. Work on developing this in your everyday business operations. Start sending out regular emails or newsletters with tips and information for them.
Then when you do recommend a product or run a sale they will be only too happy to purchase directly from you.  Remember the best way to be viewed as an authority figure is to be seen as a respectful and honest person. Of course publishing your own books and whitepapers will help reinforce this.

Headlines Sell

   Have you ever sat through a long sales pitch and ended up not remembering any of it? It was just too long and boring that your mind drifted off towards more pleasant thoughts. This is because it is much easier for a person to remember short pieces over much longer ones. Which is exactly why big marketing firms use effective, short headlines to sell their products and services.  These same principles apply to long presentations. If you were to give a seminar about book publishing. The majority of your attendees would remember that your seminar was on the topic of how to publish a book. They would not necessarily remember or recall all the details in between such as formatting a book and how to add printable graphics to it.  When it comes to marketing to your customers you want to apply the short and sweet tactic to your campaigns. The easiest way to accomplish this is by using headlines to your advantage.  Taking the time to learn how to write effective headlines can really help you create eager buyers for your products. When writing your headlines you want to try and include as much detail as possible into them.  Look for examples of headlines that attract your attention. The next time you check your email make of note of which subject lines appeal to you and think about why. You may even want to create a swipe file of headlines that you found compelling. This can help you when it comes time to write your own headlines.  Pay attention on social media and look for good headlines. Another fantastic source of headline ideas are magazines. It's the headlines that sells their magazine each month so really pay attention to the way they are used here.  Here are some basic tips for writing compelling headlines:  • Use actionable words - How to do something in 3 easy steps. • Be short - try to use around 8 to 10 words only in your headline. • Use keywords - this applies to using headlines on your blog. Try to incorporate any keywords you are trying to rank for in your headline. 
• Be clear - ensure that you headline is simple, clear and easily understood.  • Imply confidence - use words such as the best you've ever seen.  • Be intriguing - add an air of mystery to your headline as this will help draw the reader in and have them wanting to know.  The more you start using headlines the better you will become at writing them. 

The Power of Illusion

   Have you noticed that the minute you decide you want to buy a new red sports car, you start noticing them everywhere? The same happens when you are told that you are having a baby. You suddenly start seeing pregnant women and babies everywhere?  There is actually a term associated with this effect and it is known as "recency illusion". It is an effect that happens when you encounter something new, you then notice it everywhere.  Successful companies use this concept in their marketing techniques to their advantage. They figure out a way to exposure their target market to the same content, just in different ways.  This can be achieved by designing a marketing campaign that uses social media content along with videos. Your message is being conveyed in different ways, but your company is being exposed over and over again, eventually the customer makes a purchase.  You need to find creative ways where you can expose your customers to your products and information repeatedly. This way they become accustomed to seeing your name and brand associated with a particular product. When it comes time to purchase this product they will buy from you without thinking twice.  As we mentioned earlier the best way to do this is by offering the same content in different ways. You can do this by using any of the following methods:  • Turning your blog posts and articles into audio content • Creating videos out of your content • Adding graphical images and quotes to your material and posting it to your social media sites • Tweeting out portions of your content • Creating book trailers
What you basically are doing is repurposing your content in various ways. Once you get used to doing this you will find that it is an extremely effective way to get more traffic to your website as well as to your physical location, if you have one.  The same techniques apply to your branding. You want to have a great logo designed and then broadcast this all over the place. Use it in all your advertising materials and on your business cards. You could even get company tee-shirts made up and give them away to your employees as well as to your customers. Talk about free walking advertisements.  You definitely want to use the power of illusion in your marketing media today. Research has shown that the more someone is exposed to a particular brand or product the more likely they are to become a buyer. 

Using Reciprocity to Influence Buyers

  
   The concept of reciprocity is fairly simple. If someone does something for you, you will automatically feel obliged to do something in return. You want to pay someone back for acting in a sincere way. This has nothing at all to do with bribing someone.  Now, the trick is learning how to use this influence in your marketing plan. What can you do for your potential customers that will have them wanting to return the favour? The easiest way to do this is to give something away for free to your customers or potential customers. The product that you give away doesn't have to be expensive at all. It could be something that you put together yourself.  Here are some examples of items that you could give away to your customers and clients.  • Free reports - top tips on how to use a certain product • Video - showing customers how to use one of your tools or services • Graphics - people love graphics so giving away images and photos will work well  • Software - a free app, desktop backgrounds • Interview recording • PDF version of one of your books Basically you can give your customers anything that you wish. Just ensure that it has a value attached to it. Plus it needs to be directly related to your business and the products or services that you offer. If not, then it will not be perceived as offering value and won't get you the desired response that you are looking for.  If you don't have anything to physically give to your customers think of what else you could do for them. Why not write a public thank you message on their Facebook profile, or just tag them on your page. This way they will get
notified that they have been appreciated by you. This is an easy way to make your customers feel that little bit extra special.  Of course, just because you have given your customers a gift, you can't expect them to immediately purchase something. Keep in contact with them by sending out a newsletter or posting on your social sites. This keeps your name in front of them. Then when they do need a product, your company name will spring to mind first.  Keep repeating this process on a regular basis and you will have happy customers who know they are getting a great deal from you.  !

Using Social Proof to Create Buyers

 
   Social proof means believing in what you see and hear around you and following suit. For example, if someone is raving about a certain product you will be tempted to look at it with a view to purchasing it as well. As a business owner you want to take this concept and apply it to your products.  Another way to look at social proof is by having the attitude of "if they can do it, so I can". If they can afford to have an iPhone then why not me?  One simple way to employ this concept for your business is by using social sharing buttons on your blog. If you display the number of shares your post has been liked or Tweeted, you will find that others will share your post too. Again, they are just following the lead of the person that went before them.  Another concept of social proof is one that is used by bars and restaurants all the time. They get you to line up outside the door, so a crowd forms. This makes them look as though they are a busy and popular restaurant. The end result is that they gain more customers, those that see the lineups figure they need to check out the place too.  TV shows do the same thing by running loud applause when they want to highlight funny aspects of their show.  There are actually 3 different categories of social proof that you should be concerned about as a business owner. These are:  1. Expert Social Proof - this is when you get a review or guest post from an authoritive person in your field.  2. Celebrity Social Proof - is getting an unpaid endorsement from a celebrity.  3. User Social Proof - these are the reviews, likes and testimonials that come from customers who have tried and liked your product or service. It might be possible for you to get all three types of social proof for your products. The third one is usually the easiest to get. A happy customer is eager to leave their opinion of your product and they are happy to spread the word to all of their acquaintances. 
Don't discount posting reviews on your blog or website either. These can have a huge impact on your sales figures. People are in the habit today of searching for reviews before making a purchase. So why not have your website show up with a great review on it for them?

What Makes People Buy?

   Do you attach much importance to why people buy? Have you sat down and thought about what makes you want to purchase a certain product? Most people haven't thought about this at all. Yet if you run any type of business you really should learn the basics behind the psychology of what makes someone buy a particular product.  We are not talking about tricking people into doing something. But strategically placing knowledge in such a way that the person decides that they really do want to purchase this item.  To do this effectively you need to begin with creating quality content. Whether this is a giveaway book, an instructional video, or advertising material. It all needs to be highly informative and be the best quality that you can produce.  If you take the time to learn the basic principles behind why people make a purchase you can take your business and your income to new levels. By targeting the correct information to the right individuals you help them make an informed decision. One that will normally go in your favor.  You have most likely experienced this yourself. Say for example you wanted to purchase a new laptop. You have been thinking about it for a while, so the idea is already in your head. Then along comes a fantastic, targeted advertising campaign that makes you take note. Of course you are going to look into this product in more depth. You had the idea but had not taken action yet. This campaign provided you with the steps to help you take action. The outcome is you made a purchase. Now for you as the marketer, you want to be the person who delivers this material to the right people. Are you starting to understand how this will increase your sales and profit margins?  The basics of psychology include using subtle things such as social proof, attracting loyal customers by giving them something for free first. Another way to get people to buy your products is by setting yourself up as an authority figure. People are more tempted to by products or services that are written or produced by a so called "expert". 
When you apply certain tactics and principles to your advertising material and your sales pages you may be surprised at how your business flourishes. This all begins with learning how to produce quality content first, backed up by a quality sales pitch. 
 

Who Doesn't Want to Buy Cool Products?

Who doesn't like to be seen wearing or using the latest cool device or fashion? Most people do, that's for sure. When buyers view your products as "cool" or the "in thing" they will almost buy everything that you produce. So how can you put your customers into this frame of mind?  By being seen as a likable business or company. You can achieve this with how your treat your customers and how your present your products.  What this entails is how you position your company to your potential target market. You want to keep your customers coming back to you again and again.  Think about what your favorite restaurants are or which stores you go to without even thinking about it. Why is this? Is it because their customer service is impeccable, you just love their products, or because the staff smile and acknowledge you when you walk through the door?  People love to feel special and to be remembered, so you need to find some way to encompass this into your marketing methods. What can you do for your customers to make them like you even more?  Making your customers feel special can be as easy as sending them a quick thank you note once in a while. How about creating a birthday list and sending them a card or wishing them a happy birthday on their Facebook wall.  You don't have to always spend money on your customers to make them like you. Look at different areas of your business and see if it is lacking in some area. Would you say your products are up to date? If they have become a little outdated maybe now is the time for a makeover? One key place to start with is your Customer Service or Help Desk. This is often an area that is overlooked. If you don't have a help desk or a way for your customers to contact you then set this up immediately.  Once set up it is important to actually check and respond to your support tickets in a timely fashion. Excelling with customer service is a sure fire way to reach that likeable status quickly. 

Of course just being personable and friendly in all your business endeavours will place you in a favorable light with your customers. People are happy to purchase from a place where they are treated nicely. This is something that you should already be doing anyway, just ramp it up a little bit. But don't lose your sincerity otherwise your customers will see right through you.  !